Charleston's airport preps for busy Thursday with extra staff, more shuttle runs

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The Charleston International Airport has a busy few days in store.

To prepare for an influx in travelers, airport officials say they’ve taken extra steps to help make sure everyone gets to their holiday destinations in time.

Airport officials say they’re expecting Thursday to be the busiest travel day this week.

Charleston County Aviation Authority CEO Elliott Summey says last year, almost 85,000 passengers passed through the airport between Dec. 20 and Jan. 2, and this year, they’re expecting that number to increase by about 8%.

Summey says they are upping staff to prepare for a busy few days. He said inside they will have an increased number of TSA and ticketing agents, and on the outside, there will be more police directing traffic.

They’ve also opened Economy lot B up for parking and shuttles will be running more frequently from parking areas to the front curb.

“As you can see, we’ve got folks cleaning constantly here. We want to make sure it stays clean and healthy. COVID is obviously not what it was a year or two ago, but we want to continue to keep people happy and healthy. So, we’re staffed up in a major way, the infrastructure is here and ready to go. So, we’re ready and prepared,” Summey said.

Summey says he’s encouraging folks to get here about two hours early to avoid stress, be patient with the staff, and leave their firearms and fireworks at home.

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